Panthers to pick up Young's 5th-year option
Panthers general manager Dan Morgan said Tuesday that Carolina will pick up Bryce Young's fifth-year option, keeping the quarterback under contract through the 2027 season.
"I think Bryce has shown flashes of greatness this year against high-level competition," Morgan said, according to The Charlotte Observer's Alex Zietlow. "I think just as a team, we weren't as consistent as we wanted to be on a game-to-game basis."
The move would give Young a fully guaranteed $26.5-million deal in 2027. He has one more season on his rookie contract in 2026 with a cap hit of just over $12 million, according to Over the Cap. Having completed his third season in the league, Young is now eligible to sign an extension.
Morgan said it was "still up in the air" whether Carolina will ink its signal-caller to a long-term deal this offseason, via The Athletic's Joe Person.
Young set career highs in passing yards (3,011), passing touchdowns (23), and passer rating (87.8) this year. Out of 33 qualifying quarterbacks in 2025, he ranked 23rd in success rate and 26th in EPA/play.
The 24-year-old helped lead the Panthers to their first division title since 2015. Young played well in his team's wild-card round loss to the Los Angeles Rams, throwing for 264 yards with two total touchdowns. He threw a beautiful pass to wide receiver Jalen Coker for a 7-yard score to take the lead with under three minutes remaining, but the Rams found the end zone on their next possession for a game-winning touchdown.
"Man, Bryce has had a damn good year," defensive tackle Derrick Brown said after Saturday's defeat, according to team reporter Darin Gantt. "So many people rag on him, and s--t, if it was easy, everybody would play quarterback in the league, but that ain't quite the case.
"So man, I'm just proud of him and his growth throughout the year, standing tall in front of the team, no matter if it was when we got beat in New England, coming to the locker room, we got something to say. I mean, we get it every single week."
Young was selected first overall in the 2023 draft out of Alabama. He has a 14-30 record in 44 career starts with 8,291 passing yards and 49 touchdowns.